It’s the news story of the day here. The fact America’s Congress hasn’t been laid siege to shouldn’t be a story at all – the fact it is tells you all you need to know about US politics.
In Washington DC, they’ve been preparing for this January 6th since the January 6th that came to define the fragility of US democracy – the riots, destruction and death, as a mob fought to overturn the election result.
There was no drama on Capitol Hill this time as they certified Donald Trump’s victory. Had he been defeated, it might have been a different story.
The weather in Washington DC didn’t lend itself to any protest – snow was a foot deep in the US capital. Then there was the security.
A Trump supporter holds flags and banners near the US Capitol. Pic: Reuters
The Capitol complex took on a ghostly air as 9-foot high fences sealed off an area several hundred yards in radius around the seat of democracy. It was a security operation more typical of a military base than a place of politics.
Police were keen to emphasise a more aggressive posture – more bodies, training and kit. Little wonder, given the failings of four years ago.
Inside the House chamber, this election certification was perfunctory and procedural.
Pages carrying boxes holding the Electoral College votes walk through the Rotunda to the House Chamber. Pic: AP
The ceremonial carrying of votes inside mahogany boxes was conducted without a hitch – it was the paperwork that changes a presidency and vice-president Kamala Harris, overseeing the ceremonial event, duly agreed to the terms and conditions as she announced a Trump victory.
Gone was the “love me” smile of the election campaign as she appeared, a candidate defeated, before the cameras afterwards.
If she hated this media commitment, she acknowledged a duty to ensure a peaceful transfer of power, calling it “one of the most important pillars of our democracy”.
A sign on a security fence near the US Capitol. Pic: AP
America’s politicians performed the ceremony in a House chamber where they were subject to the mob four years ago, in a building where they hid and ran for their lives, where there was tear gas, smashed glass and shots fired as a crowd rampaged inside the Capitol.
Outside, a handful of supporters and relatives of convicted January 6th rioters marched around the complex to highlight their claims of injustice. Donald Trump has said he’ll pardon many of them following his inauguration on 20 January.
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As winter’s night chilled DC once more, a city and a nation could breathe a sigh of relief at a peaceful proceeding, passed without incident.
A measure of order was restored to US politics, and America can be thankful for that.
It is, however, left with the question: what if Trump had lost?
This is a man who spent months seeding doubt about election integrity and laying the ground – as many saw it – to challenge the result if he was the losing candidate.
Is peace restored to US politics only with the victory of a particular candidate?
If it is, that’s no victory at all.